High King Peter the Magnificent
by Crystal Manning
Summary: -Set during PC- During the raid at Miraz's castle Peter realizes his mistake and gets captured, making sure everyone else got out. What will happen to the Narnian King while he's in Miraz's clutches? Will he ever escape or will he die protecting his land?
1. Trailer

**TRAILER**

**--**

**As the High King, Peter makes all of the final decisions.**

_"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us."_

**He always has to have the last word.**

_"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough," Peter said in a tone which Lucy knew meant that he was done with the conversation._

**He doesn't like to hear that he is wrong.**

_"That's crazy," Caspian spoke up, earning Peter's dissaproving glance. "No one has ever attacked their castle."_

_"There's always a first time," Peter said in a hostile tone._

**He is headstrong, especially in battle.**

_"Peter, we don't have enough time!" Susan shouted at him._

_"Yes we do!" He shouted back as he tried to get the gate open._

**But, what if that's his weakness?**

_Peter looked around and saw that they were surrounded, outnumbered even. He looked down and saw that his army was being slain before his eyes. "We have to retreat!" He finally shouted, ignoring the feeling of defeat that filled him._

_"Pete, come on!" Edmund shouted from above as he flew by on his griffon._

_"You go ahead! I have to make sure they get out!" Peter shouted back as he used his sword to block the cascade of arrows that was raining down on him. "This is my mistake, I have to fix it!"_

**What if his position as High King is what brings him down in a moment of need?**

_Peter cried out in pain when an arrow struck him in the shoulder. He reached over to grab it and pull it out when another hit his other shoulder. He couldn't move his arms without pain shooting up them. He got to his feet only to be hit in the face and fell to the ground. He clenched his eyes shut in pain and opened them to see many pairs of feet in front of him. He was pushed onto his back by a foot and the last thing he saw was Miraz's face in his vision, laughing evilly._

**Peter knows, to protect his family, that he will have to deal with whatever is thrown at him.**

_"Stop..." Peter gasped as his head rolled forward and he panted heavily. Blood was streaming from his nose and his vision was swimming._

_"You have to beg for it," a soldier taunted with an evil laugh._

_Peter squeezed his eyes shut in pain. "Please...stop..." Tears leaked out of his eyes as he felt stripped of his High King role. He felt lower than he has ever felt before in his life._

**His family are scared for their fallen King.**

_"What will they do to him?" Susan finally choked out. Caspian shook his head and stayed silent. "Tell me!" Susan yelled._

_"They'll torture him," Caspian responded softly. "Maybe even kill him._

_Tears fell down Lucy's cheeks as she buried her face in Edmund's side. Susan tried to hide her face but Caspian wiped away her tears and pulled her close to him and into his embrace. Edmund glared at the paintings of the family on the stone wall as Lucy's cries bounced off of the walls._

**Will Peter ever rise to reign over Narnia again?**

_"For Narnia," he whispered to himself as he gripped his sword. He closed his eyes and swung. A loud clang echoed off of the walls as Peter's hands fell down. He rubbed his sore wrists and smiled to himself before picking up his sword and running out of the room._

**Or will the High King fall?**

_"You've taken everything that I care about away from me," Peter spoke in a trembling voice. "The only thing you can do for me now is to kill me."_

**Peter Pevensie**

_"Am I really fit to be Narnia's High King anymore?" Peter asked himself as he hung his head in defeat._

**Susan Pevensie**

_"We can't just sit around here and do nothing!" Susan's voice bounced off of the walls. "Peter will die out there!"_

**Edmund Pevensie**

_"What do we do now, Ed?" Lucy asked. "You're the King in charge now."_

_Edmund looked around at the many pairs of eyes that were staring back at him. He knew that if he made one little mistake it would cost them their lives._

**Lucy Pevensie**

_"I know, somewhere out there, that Aslan is watching," Lucy told Susan. "He will come and help us. I know he will."_

**Prince Caspian X**

_"Miraz won't rest until I am killed, even if that means killing someone else to get to me," he announced, the flames reflecting in his eyes that were filled with hatred._

**in...**

**High King Peter, the Magnificent.**

_"I am the High King of Narnia, and I will die protecting it if I have to!"_

**_Coming soon..._**

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**A/N: This idea came to me after watching the Prince Caspian movie. What would happen if Peter got captured by Miraz? Well, here's the answer. Please, if you have the time, check out my other Narnia stories and leave some feedback. That would really help me update faster.**


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

**The Calm Before the Storm...**

"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough," Peter said in a dismissive tone which Lucy knew that meant the conversation was over. He glanced at Caspian once more before leaving the Stone Table part of Aslan's How. He went back into the large room where Asterius and other beasts were working. Peter surveyed the work with so much intensity that he hadn't noticed Edmund joined him and he jumped in surprise when Edmund spoke.

"Do you have a plan or are you just going to run in there and attack blindly?" Edmund asked dryly. He knew that Peter had a tendency to jump into battle without thinking things through first, that's what caused most of his fights back in England. Edmund still believed that Peter was a great King but he still had a lot to learn about strategy.

"I have a plan, don't worry," Peter said as he turned to face Edmund and noticed that Glenstorm, Susan, and Caspian had joined him. "Are you going to fight? If not, you can stay here," he said once he locked eyes with Caspian.

"I will fight," Caspian responded. "I will not let Miraz take what rightfully belongs to another."

"Good, because I'm going to need your help," Peter admitted. "We will have to attack at night to get this to work. Glenstorm, you will be waiting at the gates for our signal. Ed, do you still have that torch?"

"Yeah," Edmund responded with a nod.

"That will be the signal. You will flash your torch three times to signal us. Three flashes, no steady beams of light, ok?" Peter repeated, making sure Edmund understood perfectly what the signal was.

"To be seen, you should fly up to a tower," Susan suggested.

"By what? I can't just grow wings and fly up there myself," Edmund told with an eyeroll.

"A griffon," Caspian spoke up. "You can take a griffon to the top of the tower. We can do the same, we can take griffons up to the top of the castle. If we run in through the gate they are bound to notice us."

"Once we're inside we have to get to the gate fast," Peter continued. "Once you see us, Ed, you can signal the others while we get the gate open. Once we're inside we can attack and take Miraz down."

"It can't be that easy," Susan spoke up. "There will be a lot of guards inside the castle. They are bound to notice us before we get all the way inside"

"We'll need someone small to get past them and take them out," Peter told her.

"Repicheep could do that," Edmund suggested. "No one would suspect a mouse to sneak into the castle, and it's not like anyone would see him since it would be too dark."

"That's it then," Peter agreed. "Glenstorm, get some others to be part of the army. Everyone else should stay here incase some Telmarines come here while we're gone and they need to fight."

"And Lucy?" Susan asked.

"She'll have to stay here," Peter replied instantly. "She can't get hurt, she's the only one that can heal us." He looked at them to see if they had anything else to say; he was glad that they stayed quiet but was surprised when Caspian didn't say anything. "Ok. Get some sleep, we're going to need to be wide awake tonight to pull this off."

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**I know it's short, it's more like a prologue than a first chapter but I wanted to put the planning stages in. It will pick up in the next one because it has to do with the battle. I hope you liked it anyway. Please leave some feedback and check out my other Narnia stories. thanks.**


	3. Night Raid

**Night Raid**

"Now, Ed, now!" Peter shouted as he raced across the open part of Miraz's castle as he unsheathed his sword. "Signal the troops!"

"I'm a bit busy, Pete!" Edmund shouted from above Peter as he tried to shove a soldier away from him without getting hit by his sword.

Peter slashed his sword across the soldier that was running towards him. He quickly turned around and hit the one that was trying to attack behind him. Once they were both on the ground and rushed to the wheel that opened the gate and grasped it. He tried to turn it and only managed to turn it a little bit.

"Peter!" Susan cried as he and Caspian ran up to him. "It's too late! We have to call it off right now!"

"No!" Peter protested. "I can still do this!" He continued trying to turn the wheel. "Help me!"

"Just who are you doing this for, Peter?" Susan asked as she helped him turn the wheel. He didn't say anything as they continued to turn the wheel. He hesitated a bit as the soldiers came running down towards them, screaming battle cries. They continued to turn the wheel and only stopped when their army charged in through the gate and attacked Miraz's army.

"FOR NARNIA!" Peter shouted, leading Caspian and Susan into battle. He charged a soldier and stabbed him before knocking him over. He quickly whirled around and ducked to dodge a sword that was aimed towards his head. He kept jumping back as the sword was thrusted at him before blocking it with his own. He twisted his hands and managed to disarm the soldier before stabbing him and watching, happily, as he fell. He suddenly heard screaming and looked up to see a soldier falling down over a balcony where Edmund stood, watching them. "Ed!" Peter shouted once he noticed the other soldiers turning their arrows to Edmund. I turned and stabbed another soldier before looking up to see where Miraz was. Peter ran forward and started to charge up the stairs to get to Miraz. He knocked some soldiers out of his way as he contunued running up. He quickly stopped and managed to keep himself from running into the sword that was pointed towards him.

He stopped and looked up when he heard a cry of pain. He watched in fear as a minotaur was sent falling down to the ground, screaming in pain the entire way. He winced when it hit a part of the wall that jutted out before it landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Peter hit a soldier that appeared next to him before loooking around in shock and in fear. A loud clanking sound grabbed his attention and he saw the gate starting to fall back down. A minotaur ran over to it and stopped it from falling, holding it up with his strength.

Peter looked around and saw that they were surrounded, outnumbered even. He looked down and saw that his army was being slain before his eyes. "Fall back!" He finally shouted, ignoring the feeling of defeat that filled him. He started to run back down the stairs, kicking a soldier out of his way. "We need to retreat, now!" He jumped off the stairs and managed to slay a soldier. "Go! Get out of here!" He shouted as he passed Susan. "Get to the gate!" He looked over to see that a centaur had picked Susan up.

"Caspian!" She shouted over her shoulder.

"I'll find him!" Peter shouted back. "Go! Get out! Retreat, go!" He shouted as he ran past some fighting Beasts as he tried to search for Caspian. I struck a soldier when Caspian came rushing into the courtyard with two horses, he was on the back of one. I locked eyes with him as he tried to get near me. "No! Go! I have to make sure everyone gets out!" He shouted as he signaled for Caspian to leave.

"Pete, come on!" Edmund shouted from above as he flew by on his griffon. His eyes widened when he looked down to see the slain Beasts bodies littered the ground.

"You go ahead! I have to make sure they get out!" Peter shouted back as he used his sword to block the cascade of arrows that was raining down on him. "This is my mistake, I have to fix it!"

"But Peter!"

"GO Edmund!"

Edmund hesitated before pressing his knees in the griffon's side, letting him know to leave. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he heard the sounds of the battle fading in the distance. '_He told you to leave. He told you to leave.'_ He kept repeating to himself as the griffon took him away from the battle.

Peter kept turning from his back to his front to attack the soldiers that were running towards him. He heard a loud thud and turned to see that the minotaur, who was holding up the gate, fell. Peter rushed over to the gate and peered through it to see Susan starting back at him with wide eyes and a trembling lip. "I'll be ok," he called to her. "I promise. Just...keep Lucy safe for me. I'll come back!"

Susan bit her lip as she nodded. It broke Peter's heart to see a tear falling down her face but he tore his eyes away and, screaming, went charing back into battle with new strength. He took soldiers down with one attack, he was so pumped with adrenaline. He kicked, punched, and hit any moving soldier that he could reach and stabbed a couple of them with his sword, not caring about their cries of pain.

"King Peter!" He heard someone call his name. Time seemed to slow down as Peter whirled around, arm up, ready to attack whoever was trying to hurt him.

Peter cried out in pain when an arrow struck him in the shoulder. He reached over to grab it and pull it out when another hit his other shoulder. He couldn't move his arms without pain shooting up them. He got to his feet only to be hit in the face and fell to the ground. He clenched his eyes shut in pain and opened them to see many pairs of feet in front of him. Everything seemed to slow down and, to him, it felt like he was deaf. He couldn't hear anything around him and his whole body felt numb. He could only hear his shuddering breath as she squeezed his eyes shut from the pulsing pain. His eyes opened as he let out a choked gasp when he was pushed onto his back by a foot. He squeezed his eyes shut again, not wanting to see what was in front of him. He had a sinking feeling that this was karma for not believing in Lucy and Aslan when he should have.

_'God, please, keep my family safe. And, if I die, let them all now how much I love them.' _Peter forced open his eyes but it felt like cement was on his eyelids. Taking a deep breath he finally managed to open his eyes. Everything in front of him swam as he tried to focus. In the corner of his sight darkness started to creep in. He blinked to try and make the darkness go away but it started to cover his vision. He tilted his head down and the last thing he saw was Miraz's face in his vision, laughing evily.

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**Please leave some feedback and check out my revised edition of **_**One of the Guys**_**. Thanks. REVIEW!**


	4. Towers and Dungeons

**Towers and Dungeons**

"What should we do with him?" a soldier asked once he checked to make sure that Peter had passed out. When he kicked Peter he made no sound, his head flopped around as if all the weight was in it.

"Put him in one of the cells so I can deal with him later," Miraz responded before he let his eyes wander around the courtyard. He smiled to himself when he saw all of the fallen Narnians' bodies that littered the ground. To him, seeing his opponents killed was like a trophy that he won.

"My Lord, Caspian is still out there," another soldier spoke up as two soldiers grabbed Peter's arms and started to drag him away. "You can be sure that he is going to come back and try to take his place on the throne."

"Keep a good watch on the castle for now," Miraz responded without looking at him. "And if you can't do that, then you can leave. I don't need any weak soldiers around here." He looked down at the fallen soldiers with disgust written all over his face. "That's why these soldiers are dead, they were weak. Unless you want to wind up like them, you'll make sure that no one else even dares to set foot near this castle."

"Yes sir," the soldier said, as he trembled beneath Miraz's gaze. Miraz smirked before turning to walk back to his chamber.

Meanwhile, the two soldiers dragging Peter was having a hard time pulling him up the stairs to the tower. His head hit every stair on the way up but he didn't acknowledge the pain since he was still unconscious. The soldiers groaned as they continued dragging him for a couple more steps before stopping to catch their breaths.

"Maybe if we carry him it will be easier," the first soldier suggested.

"He weighs a lot either way," the second soldier responded.

"You grab his legs and I'll grab his arms and then we'll carry him the rest of the way," the first soldier explained as he grabbed Peter's wrists as the other soldier grabbed Peter by his ankles. Peter's head fell back as he was lifted into the air and the two soldiers resumed their climb up to the tower.

"Miraz had to decide to put him in the _highest_ tower!" The first soldier groaned after they stopped to take another break. He pulled off his helmet and wiped sweat from his forehead before sitting down on the stairs. The other soldier dropped Peter's feet, and they made an echoing thud once they hit the ground. The second soldier also pulled off his helmet and sat down on the stairs, letting out a breath.

"We had to make sure that there is no way his followers would be able to get to him," second soldier told him.

"Wouldn't it be easier to stick him in the dungeons, though?" The first asked. "I saw some of the other soldiers fighting and one of them had a griffon. They'll be able to get to him easily without us being able to stop them."

The second gave him a hard stare before throwing his helmet down the stairs in frustration. They listened to the echoing clank as the helmet fell all the way back down. The second soldier drummed his fingers on his knee as he placed his chin in his other hand and he thought things over in his head.

"Should we move him down there?" The first soldier then asked slowly, making sure that he didn't upset the other soldier.

"Miraz told us to move him up here," the second said through clenched teeth.

"Yes, but it makes more sense to put him down in the dungeons," the first pointed out. The two remained in silence before looking down at the king. His face was pale and his lips turned a really light shade of blue. The arrows had been removed from his shoulders and dried blood had soaked through his shirt.

"Let's move him down to the dungeons and then explain to Miraz why we moved him. He will be so happy that we thought of it that he won't be mad at us for going against his word," the second finally said before getting to his feet.

"Ok, but I don't want to carry him the entire way," the first soldier said as they glanced down at Peter. He thought for a couple of seconds before giving Peter a good hard kick to the side. He rolled over a couple of stairs before he gained speed and rolled out of their line of vision when he started going down the spiral staircase. "That was easy."

"Yes, but I'm pretty sure Miraz wanted him alive and in one piece," the second growled as he hit the first across the face before he took off down the stairs. The first rubbed his face before running after the second. As he descended he tripped over his boots. Since he was so close to the other soldier, he took him down with him and the two began falling down the stairs. Every stair they hit a metallic _clang_ filled the stairwell and it echoed in the close quarters.

They let out groans of pain as they fell the entire way down. Eventually they stopped and landed at the bottom, where Peter lay motionless. The first soldier fell on top of the second and the second let out a cry before shoving the first off of him.

"C'mon, you slowpoke," the second said as he got to his feet and rubbed his sore spots. The two picked up Peter and walked down a couple of hallways before getting to a wooden door. They struggled to get it open before they were successful. They carried Peter down the stairs, torches on the wall lit up the steps so they didn't fall. Once they got down, right in front of them, was another wooden door. They opened that and carried Peter inside. They set him against the wall and cuffed shackles around his wrists. His head hung forward so his chin rested against his chest and his hair hung. "We have to report to Mriaz." The soldier shoved the first one out of the room before closing and locking the door, sealing the King in darkness.


	5. Susan and Edmund

**Susan and Edmund**

Susan could still hear the anguished screams of the Talking Beasts that sacrificed their lives for her and her family. And Peter, poor Peter… She shook her head as the rocking from the back of a centaur calmed her nerves a little bit.

'_How could you be so stupid, Peter? Why would you sacrifice yourself like that?'_ Susan kept asking herself the entire way back. A lump had formed in the pit of her stomach when she realized that one of them would have to tell Lucy what had happened. She could all ready picture the crest fallen look on Lucy's face once the bad news was given to her. _'I can't do that to Lucy, it'll break her heart. But I can't keep it from her either.'_

"Su," She was pulled out of her thoughts by her brother's voice. The griffon that Edmund had been riding was walking on the ground next to them. His eyes were red and she could tell that he had been crying, even though she knew he wouldn't want to admit it. "I'm sure Peter is ok. He knows what he is doing."

"Does he really?" Susan shot back. "He was the one who thought it was a good idea to go into the castle in the first place. And that turned out to be a mistake. What if this turns out to be a mistake too? What if…what if…?" She couldn't get the words out as she choked back her tears. Edmund hung his head, as if he all ready knew what Susan was going to say.

"Peter can take care of himself," Edmund told her, startling her because she didn't expect him to speak.

"That's not what I'm worried about," Susan told him.

"Then, what is it?"

"I'm worried that he will try to fight them, even though he knows that there are too many of them and only one of him. I'm worried that his determination would end up being his downfall."

"Susan," Edmund said slowly, as if he wanted to stop himself from saying what he was going to say. "Remember that time we were playing Cricket and I accidentally smashed one of Professor Kirk's windows?"

"Yes, because that's how we first came to Narnia," Susan responded. "I can't forget something like that."

"And remember how, after we got back, Peter took the blame for the window and he was stuck cleaning while we were able to play and we felt guilty?"

"Yes," Susan responded, not fully understanding where his story was heading.

"He didn't deserve that punishment. I should have done it but he was really determined to let me have as much fun as possible before school."

"I remember, but what does any of that have to do with what's happening now?" Susan questioned.

"It's the same thing. Peter can do anything he sets his mind to and you know that it's hard to change his mind once it's been made. He will get out of there and I will make sure that he gets out of there safely."

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**I hate this chapter but I wanted to do something small with Edmund and Susan. It's short because I'm going back to school tomorrow (ugh) and I have a lot of stuff to do today to get ready for tomorrow so…yeah. I promise to make the next one longer.**


	6. Loud and Clear…

**Loud and Clear…**

**Lucy's POV**

'_What's taking them so long? Surely they'd be back by now,'_ I kept telling myself as I bit my thumbnail. It was about an hour ago when they left to go attack Miraz's castle. It was too far away from here for me to be able to tell what was going on. If I strained I could hear really faint battle cries that were in the distance, but that was it.

"Oh Aslan, why did you have to leave?" I muttered as I looked down at the broken stone table that I was sitting on. I closed my eyes and I could easily recall the scenes that lay out before me like a movie without sound. I could remember seeing the pain in Aslan's eyes, I could remember the evil yet triumphant look that was on Jadis's face.

I clenched my hands into fists when I remembered how powerful Jadis was. She was able to manipulate my brother into turning against us. I hated what she did to us, what she did to Edmund. He went on with his life but I could tell that he wouldn't forget what he did. Sometimes, when I looked into his eyes, I could see the pain from the past reflecting in them and I could see the regret. He'd play it off, saying that he was fine and there was nothing to worry about, but I knew the truth.

"Please hurry," I muttered to myself as I kicked my legs back and forth. I looked around when I heard a clopping sound, the sound of hooves. A centaur who was ordered to stay with me had returned from his rounds.

"There is no one out there, M'lady," he said with a bow. "Rest assured."

"I don't want to sleep," I told him. "I have to wait for them to come back." As I said this my hand went to the small dagger that hung off my belt. I lightly traced the design and smile a little. I remember when I first got it, Peter didn't want me to have it. He said that I was too young to wield a dagger, even one as small as this. He said a war wasn't a lady's affair, which was why I was always left behind.

I always thought it was unfair, seeing as Susan could always go and fight. I hated staying here, not knowing what was going on until they came back. I've wanted to tell Peter this but I knew that he wouldn't listen to me.

"M'lday, you need your rest," the centaur urged me.

"I can't," I said as I shook my hand. "If I come off as rude, that wasn't my intention. I just can't sleep knowing that my siblings are out there and are in danger. I have to stay up."

"Ok, Miss, but if you ever get tired, we're switching watches so you don't have to be worried," he said with another bow before leaving the large room. I let out a sigh when he left and stood so I could stretch my legs.

'_How much longer can they take?' _I asked myself as I circled the room. I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my fingers on my arms as I continued circling the room. I could feel my eyelids droop a little bit so I blinked rapidly to make sure they stayed open. "Stay awake, Lu. You can't sleep. You have to stay awake to make sure they all come back safely. You _have_ to."

I kept telling myself that as I paced around the room, trying to think of a game to play with myself to keep myself awake. I forced my eyes open when they started to droop once more. _'C'mon Lu, you gotta stay awake. You can't sleep…sleep…it's sounds good right now…'_

**Normal POV**

"How much longer until we're back?" Edmund asked the next morning as he checked on his griffon.

"Hard to say," Caspian responded. "If we don't run into any trouble we could be back by mid morning."

"Who's going to tell Lucy?" Edmund asked Susan as he turned to look at her.

"One of us has to when it comes down to it," she responded. "I will," she decided. "You'll probably just make it worse."

Edmund would ordinarily take offence to that but he was too tired and too distraught to care. It was easy for him to cover up that he missed and worried so much about his brother, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to hide it from Lucy. Lucy had a way of being able to read him like a book and she would easily be able to see right through him.

Now that Peter wasn't with them, Edmund knew that he had to step up since he is the next in line to step up and become the one to call out orders. He would rather leave that job to Caspian, even Susan for that matter. He didn't want to accept that his brother wasn't with them and possibly would never come back to them.

"Yeah…I probably would," Edmund muttered to himself before helping his oldest sister onto the back of a centaur before he got back on the griffon. He waited patiently for Caspian's signal. Suddenly the griffon crouched down before pushing off the ground. Air whistled in Edmund's ears as he rose into the air and his heart dropped.

He loved flying, he loved being able to see the breathtaking view and he loved the feeling of being weightless. Being in the air made him forget, momentarily, about his brother as he closed his eyes and listened to the whistling wind.

Too soon for him they had landed on the ground. Edmund slid off of the griffon but kept a hand on the beast's side, the feathers from his wings sliding through his fingers before the texture turned to silk as he ran his fingers through the griffon's hair.

He waited for Susan before they and Caspian started their walk across the stretch of grass that would lead them right into Aslan's How. Edmund kept his head held up high, his eyes locked on the dip ahead of him. He could hear someone signaling their arrival by a horn and he flinched visibly. He knew that they would have to tell Lucy sooner rather than later.

"What happened?" Lucy asked once they were in earshot as she looked around at the glum group. Susan and Edmund exchanged a glance as Lucy looked back and forth between them. "What happened?" She repeated. "Wait…" she paused and looked around, as if searching for someone. "Where's Peter?"

"Lu…" Susan struggled to get out her sentence.

"Where's Peter?" She demanded.

"He was…captured," Edmund said slowly as he studied Lucy's face.

"Wha…?" was the only thing she could get out. "How…?" She finally asked as her bottom lip trembled slightly. Edmund and Susan looked at each other before Susan nodded. Edmund stepped forward and kneeled before taking Lucy's hands in his and looking her in the eye.

"Lu, we were fighting a losing battle," Edmund told her. "Peter ordered us to retreat but he…he wouldn't leave until we were all out. He said he had to fix his own mess. He, along with some of the other part of our army, got trapped at the castle."

"Nooo!" Lucy wailed before throwing herself into Edmund's arms. He hesitated before holding her close and gently patting her on the back. "Not Peter! Not Peter!"

"Ssssh, Lu. Everything will be ok. Peter will come back," Edmund whispered in her ear.

"Do you promise?" Lucy asked as she sniffed.

"I…I promise, Lu, I promise," Edmund said as he held her tighter.


	7. Crawling in the Dark

**Crawling in the Dark**

_**-Peter's POV-**_

The first thing that occurred to me when I woke up was that I had a splitting headache. I coughed and tried to take in a gulp of air but my chest felt like it was being constricted. I tried to move my hands forward but they wouldn't budge. Panic started to rise in my chest as I tried to move my arms but they wouldn't budge either. I felt something rough bite into my skin, which made me stop. I pulled my arms forward once more and heard a light jingling noise. Moonlight trickled in from the space above me and it illuminated my arm restraints. My arms were chained above my head to the hall so I wasn't able to move them. I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt the pounding of my head.

I had to stop my throbbing headache. The salty fish smell wasn't making things any better for me either. It only made me want to throw up. I let out a breath and finally found the strength to open my eyes again. I could hear the whistling sound of the wind as it came into the damp, cold room that I was enslaved to.

I could hear footsteps moving down the stairs at a leisurely pace. I tried to cry out for help but only let out a cough when I found out how dry and scratchy my throat was. I could hear the footsteps moving again before the faint sound of an opening door echo through the room. The sound of the door slamming shut against its hinges filled the air once more before I heard footsteps coming down towards me.

"It's time to eat _your highness_," a mocking voice filled the room. I looked up and saw a soldier with a large grin on his face and a tray of food in his hand.

I bit my lip as I looked away from the soldier, trying to control myself. All I really wanted to do right now was attack him until he felt how I'm feeling right now, but as the High King I knew I had to keep my composure or else it would reflect badly on everyone else.

"If you don't eat now you won't eat until the night," the soldier said in a warning tone as he put the tray in front of me and waited. He stared at me and I stared back, trying not to give into the temptation.

If he thought I was going to eat that stuff he can forget it. I didn't trust what was on the plate; it could be filled with poison for all I know. The smell started to get to me and I could feel drool starting to come out of the corner of my mouth. _'Get a grip, Peter, you can get through this. It's mind of matter.'_

I don't know how long it was that I was sitting there staring at the soldier as he stared back at me. He should have known that I wasn't going to touch the food so why didn't he leave? He cracked a smile every now and then, only when my stomach growled, betraying me.

Eventually he took the food and left the room, making the room echo with a really loud _clang_ when the door closed. I closed my eyes and tried to push away the feeling of hunger that was beginning to be overwhelming.

I started to lift my head but the pain from the crick in my neck stopped me. My breathing came out shallow as I tried to get the pain to fade faster. He was stiff from hanging in the same position for so long. My back and shoulders hurt along with my wrists from holding up my entire body weight. When I didn't move, I had a somewhat peaceful sleep but the rude awakening caused the pain to come back.

I was relieved and scared at the same time. Relieved to know that I had lived to see another day, and scared about my family. I had to know what happened to Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. _'This is Caspian's entire fault! If he hadn't delayed me this wouldn't have happened!'_

The door creaked open once more and the same soldier from before came in. I tensed as he advanced towards me. I was ready to kick him when my left hand fell down to my side. I watched as the soldier uncuffed my other hand. I fell to the ground because my knees were so weak. I was getting ready to rub my wrists when another soldier came in and the two grabbed me by my arms and shoved me to get me walking.

I stumbled as I tried to regain balance in my legs and the two soldiers continued to kick me to get me going. I let them drag me up a flight of stairs, down a couple of halls, and into a spacious room that was made of stone. Holes were cut out of the walls, letting sunlight stream in. Ahead of me, Miraz was sitting on his throne, smirking at me. Oh, how I wanted to wipe that smirk off of his face. The soldiers threw me down onto the ground and stood by me as pain shot up my knees.

"Hello _King Peter_," Miraz said in a sarcastic tone as I got to my feet. I stayed quiet as I kept my jaws clenched and my hands curled into fists. "It's rude to not respond to your elders, boy. When someone greets you, it's proper etiquette to respond."

"Hello," I growled through clenched teeth.

"Hello _your majesty_," Miraz corrected with a sinister smile. It faded when I kept quiet. "Hello _your majesty_," he repeated.

"Hello...your majesty," I forced out of my mouth as I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Good, now bow."

"No," I responded loudly and firmly.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Miraz demanded as his knuckles turned white as he clutched the arm rests to his throne.

"I said no," I repeated. "To bow to someone means that I give them upmost respect, and I don't respect you. Respect is earned, not guaranteed."

"Then I guess I have to beat some sense into you," Miraz said with a sigh before he snapped.

I cried out in pain when it felt like power exploded on the back of my head. I stumbled forward and brought my hands up to my head before turning around. A soldier was grinning as he lowered the end of the sword that he held up. It dawned on me that he butted me with it. I reached to my hilt to grab my sword but I grabbed air.

_'What?'_ I looked down and saw that my sword was indeed gone. I looked up and gasped when I saw it being tossed around by some soldiers in the background. The main soldier tossed down his sword before charging at me. I didn't have time to move and he kicked me right in the abs. My breath left me with a _whoosh_ as I grabbed my abs. The soldier hit me on the back of my head with his elbow and I fell to my knees.

Stars exploded in front of my eyes as I tried to regain focus. I grabbed the soldier's ankle and pulled up as hard as I could. He fell over and I jumped to my feet, rushing over to the forgotten sword. I felt him grab my ankle and I fell down on the ground, hitting my chin in the process.

A kick connected in my side as I curled into a ball. I grabbed my abs as I tried to get into me as another kick connected with my side. Another and another followed. I squeezed my eyes shut as pain rained down on me like a downpour. I felt myself being picked up and I tried to get out of their grasp. I was slammed against the wall, my headache returning with a vengeance.

I looked up into the dark eyes of a Telmarine before I felt his fist connect with my nose. The force of the punch made my head connect with the wall. I could feel something thick, warm, and sticky dripping out of my nose and past my lips. A metallic taste filled my mouth.

Blood.

The first connected with my face again and again. I could feel punches all over my body now as I tried to knock out my pain. I bit my lip so hard I could feel the blood from my lip mixing with the blood from my nose. _'Stop, please stop!'_ I screamed in my mind. Before I knew it the words spilled out of my lips.

"Stop..." I gasped as my head rolled forward and I panted heavily. Blood was streaming from my nose and his vision was swimming. I could barely feel the pain that pulsed with my heartbeat. I could barely see the evil yet satisfied smirk that was on Miraz's lips.

"You have to beg for it," a soldier taunted with an evil laugh.

I squeezed my eyes shut in pain: physical pain and emotional pain for being so weak. "Please...stop..." Tears leaked out of my eyes as I felt stripped of my High King role. I felt lower than I have ever felt before in my life. I could see the darkness settling in and the only thing I wanted to do right now was get away from it. I could feel myself start to drown in it as the evil laughter echoed through my head.

Then I fell...


	8. High King Edmund?

**High King Edmund?**

Edmund let out a breath as he picked up a rock and threw it across the room. He winced at the loud clattering sound that pierced the air and echoed throughout the room. He looked to his left to see Susan sleeping with her arms wrapped around Lucy.

Lucy hadn't stopped crying ever since she heard that Peter had been captured. It hurt Edmund more than anyone else knew to see her like that. He could honestly say that he was closer to Lucy than anyone else in their family, even if Lucy was closer to Peter than she was to him. Edmund could find himself trusting her more than anyone else. She was always the one he turned to whenever he wanted to play with someone, even if he found himself losing his cool because she would stop what she was doing and go play with something else.

That's why Edmund became as distant as he is now. That's why he fell for Jadis's charm, because he felt alone and he wanted someone to care for him. Now that Peter was gone, he would have to care for everyone else and make sure that they stayed safe, even during battle. Narnia was in _his_ hands now.

Edmund threw a rock harder against the wall and it split in half with a loud _crack_, causing Susan to stir. "Ed, what are you doing? We're trying to sleep!" She hissed, making sure not to wake Lucy as she shifted. She gently laid Lucy down on the ground before walking over to Edmund, who was fiddling with the handle to his sword. "Try and get some sleep, you'll feel refreshed in the morning."

"I can't sleep," Edmund said as he shook his head. "I won't sleep."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ed. You have to-" Susan started.

"I _know_ what I have to do," Edmund interrupted her. He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before announcing, "I have to get Peter back."

"We will get him back," Susan told him as she gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "We _will_. But you _have_ to go to sleep first. You can think better after you get some sleep and then we can-"

"You don't get it, Susan!" Edmund jerked away from her so her hand fell to her side.

"Then help me understand," Susan pleaded.

"You weren't constantly being compared to Peter as we grew up," Edmund stated as he moved away from Susan and looked at the pictures on the wall that represented him and his family during the Golden Age. "Peter was always smarter than me, more generous than me, calmer than me. He was better at everything than I was. Rugby, football, cricket, croquet, _everything_! He was even named the High King of Narnia, which is the icing on the cake. It was basically a slap to my face about how I'm not as good as Peter is.

"Now that he's been captured, I can't help but feel regret to everything I've thought about him and how angry I was that he was the one in charge when we were sent to live with Professor Kirk. That's part of the reason why I went with Jadis. I mean, I knew not to talk to strangers but she...just seemed to understand me and I had no one else to talk to. I didn't realize she was bad until she tried to get you guys and she was using me for it. I mean, I saw her turn a fox into stone and it shook me up.

"It was then that I knew I had made a mistake and I did everything I could to fix it, but I was afraid of what Peter would say or do if I found you guys again. But Peter has always forgiven me and always made sure that I was safe. Peter's like my right hand man, my other half. I can't live with the fact that he's gone and he's capture just so he could protect us. I'm going to go find him and I'm going to bring him back, even if it kills me."

"Edmund," Lucy's shaky voice broke through the air. Edmund turned to look at her and flinched when she saw that tears were slowly drying on her face. She sniffed and wiped her eyes before moving over to him. "Don't go, Edmund."

"Lucy, you want Peter back don't you?" Edmund asked her.

"Yes, but I don't want you to get captured too," she responded.

They all turned towards the exit when they heard a scraping noise. Caspian flinched under their gazes as he stepped further into the room.

"I didn't meant to eavesdrop," Caspian started as he glanced at Edmund before lowering his eyes, "but I have to say, if you go in and try to take Peter back, Miraz will make sure you're slaughtered before you get close to the gates. He isn't dumb, he knows you're going to try and get Peter back."

"So what do you expect me to do? Stay here?" Edmund scoffed. "I'm not going to sit around as they torture my brother!"

"I'm not asking for you to do that," Caspian said calmly. "What I am asking you to do is think rationally. You don't want any more of your people to be killed because you didn't think clearly, do you?"

"What will they do to him?" Susan finally choked out. Caspian looked at Susan in confusion. "Peter. What will they do to Peter?" Caspian shook his head and stayed silent. "Tell me!" Susan yelled. Lucy's eyes widened when she heard Susan yelling. Never in her life has Susan yelled at anyone, even when she felt that deserved it, she has never raised her voice. "Please." Her voice started to shake. "Please, tell me."

"They'll torture him," Caspian responded softly. "Maybe even kill him.

Tears fell down Lucy's cheeks as she buried her face in Edmund's side. Susan tried to hide her face but Caspian wiped away her tears and pulled her close to him and into his embrace. Edmund glared at the paintings of the family on the stone wall as Lucy's cries bounced off of the walls.

Edmund gently pushed Lucy away before walking swiftly out of the room. He could feel tears welling up in the corner of his eyes so he bit his lip to keep a sob from falling out of his mouth. He moved through the caves that protected the Stone Table before he made his way outside on the top ledge, looking out at all of Aslan's How. He pulled his sword out of its sheath and held it in his hands before it fell onto the stone beneath him.

He held his head in his hands as tears leaked out of his eyes and dripped onto the ground. He let out a sob before he dissolved into a crying mess on the ground. "Peter," he whispered.


	9. For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic

**For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic**

Peter awoke with a start, sweat lingering in a thin layer on his body. Everything on him ached as he struggled to push himself to a sitting position. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw before letting out a breath of air in a rush.

His head pounded and the only thing he wanted at the moment was to be back at home, without a care in the world, playing cricket with his brother and sisters, away from all of the pain that he went through.

He tried to hold onto a memory of a better time when they were younger and carelessly playing in a nearby river. Lucy was continuously splashing Edmund who was trying to stay annoyed but it was obvious that he was having fun. Susan was a few feet back from the bank, reading a book.

"I need to keep up with my studies," she had announced when Peter asked her to join in on the fun. "Besides, Mum asked us not to spoil our clothes," she added, looking at the water soaked legs of Edmund's pants.

Peter shrugged and charged into the water, picking Lucy up easily and spinning her around. She laughed gleefully as Edmund watched. Peter put Lucy down right as Edmund kicked water at them both, starting a water fight.

Edmund then turned his attack to Susan, trying to provoke her. Like always, it worked and next thing they knew they were wrestling in the shallow water, soaking their clothes. Needless to say, once they returned home their mother was angered at them for ruining their best.

Peter sighed and leaned against the cool wall, dragging his shackled feet up to his chest. He was surprised that they hadn't shackled his arms up last night. He was glad. His wrists have been cut open many times because of the shackles, which was the best injury that was on him.

He shakily got to his feet and turned to look out the small window, trying to judge what time it was by the position of the sun. He sighed in frustration and fell back onto the ground, ready to admit defeat.

_Don't!_ He told himself. _Susan and Lucy and Edmund will come and get you. They'll rescue you and put a stop to everything._ He repeated those words in his head many times until he started to believe them and the old strength he had started to come back.

He was the High King of Narnia. Somewhere, he had people ready to take him back and put him back on his throne where he belonged. It would only be a matter of time until he was free. While he waited, he just had to find Miraz's weak spot so they could defeat him once and for all.

He just had to be patient.

----

"Miraz won't rest until I am killed, even if that means killing someone else to get to me," Caspian announced, the flames reflecting in his eyes that were filled with hatred. He had everyone's undivided attention and he started to feel the pressure of being in control of what would happen. "There is a chance that King Peter is dead all ready, but we have to believe that he's still alive. We will get him back, no matter what it takes.

"For now, the only thing we can do to prepare ourselves for battle is practice," he continued, looking them all in the eye. "King Edmund and I will look over the sword fighting and Queen Susan will look over the archers. Practice until your aim is true and you don't miss." He looked around the room at the unconvinced faces. "We _will_ get King Peter back; it will just take some time. During that time, we can become stronger and give Miraz something to fear."

The room was silent for a moment before cheers of approval reached his ears. Suddenly everyone in the room started moving at once as they were eager to start their training in the hopes of being strong enough to get their respected king back. Caspian was about to leave the room himself a voice stopped him.

"Caspian," Edmund spoke up. He had a piece of rolled up paper in his hands, twisting it tightly in his grasp as he moved over to the prince. "I have managed to get a map of Miraz's castle." Caspian noticed that Edmund sounded unsure of himself and urged Edmund to continue by giving him his full attention. "I got it from Dr. Cornelius, actually," Edmund continued. "I was taking a look at it and I noticed that there are some areas that Miraz has overlooked and probably won't have blocked."

Having gained Caspian's interested; Edmund unrolled the paper on the table that showed a 3-D drawing of the castle. There were Xs in random places, signaling what entrances into the castle were blocked. "Here," Edmund pointed to an entrance in the moat, "we could have some centaurs, horses, and large cats go through there and into the castle because they can swim really well." He scanned the paper again. "Here," he prodded a space a few feet away from the castle, "Dr. Cornelius says that there is an entrance hidden by these boulders and bushes that leads underground and into the castle. The last one is here," he pointed to a space that was hidden in the large mountain side by the castle. "This one is the easiest to get to. We can split our group into three and sneak in, grab Peter, and get out."

"That sounds risky," Caspian muttered.

"What plans don't have a little bit of risk with it?" Edmund asked as he rolled up the paper. "This will work," he said with confidence. "I know it will. If Miraz isn't aware of these entrances, then we can easily get Peter back without being detected. I can signal with my torch. _That_ part is risky, I'll admit, but it would be worth the risk. We'd have the upper hand."

It was then that Caspian noticed the fire that was burning behind Edmund's eyes. He didn't know if it was because they were talking about his brother, or if it was because he actually had a say in what went on.

Caspian was told stories of the Kings and Queens of Old, where High King Peter would lead everyone into battle, but it was King Edmund who came up with the plans and the strategies that were used. High King Peter would get most of the credit when really it was King Edmund's ideas that were what made them successful.

Edmund and Caspian spent the next few minutes going over a plan on how they would infiltrate the castle and how everything had to go according to plan and nothing could be delayed if they wanted it to work out.

Afterwards Caspian went out to supervise the fighting Glenstrom was leading the swordsmen in sparring matches. Caspian could see that they were working harder than they have ever worked before.

He looked over towards the archers and his eyes rested on Susan briefly before he glanced at what they were doing. Caspian chuckled when he saw that they were trying to shoot at a Telmarine target they haphazardly made. Chuckling to himself, he picked up a crossbow and made his way over to them.

"Nope! Not a scratch!" he could hear Trufflehunter.

"It's all right," Susan told the group. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

"How long did it take?" a satyr asked.

"What's Rome?" A faun whispered back.

"It's...it's just a phrase," Susan explained with a sigh. Caspian took that time to fire off an arrow at the target, causing the others to jump at the sudden noise. It hit it straight on. "Nice shot," Susan complimented. "Who...?"

"Good afternoon, your majesty," Caspian spoke up, causing them all to turn as he approached her. "I thought you could use some help."

"Things are well in hand, thank you," Susan said somewhat icily, which took Caspian aback.

"I...didn't mean to suggest otherwise," he apologized.

"I suppose you could do better?"

Caspian smiled a little and loaded his crossbow. "Pick a target."

Susan looked into the distance. "Do you see that pinecone?" She questioned.

Caspian followed her gaze, nodded, and lifted his crossbow. "No problem." He took aim.

"Uh..." Susan gently lifted the crossbow. "That one," she pointed it at one higher up on the tree.

"Are you sure that's not an acorn?" Caspian joked.

"Too far for you?" Susan challenged.

Caspian lifted the crossbow once more, aimed, and fired. The arrow sailed through the air...and barely missed its target, landing in the ground. He sighed.

"Not bad," Susan muttered.

"Well, I was trained by the finest in the Telmarine army," he felt that he had to explain to her as he looked at her, suddenly aware of how close they were standing.

"Well...if that's the best they've got...we might stand a chance after all," Susan muttered as she lifted her bow and arrow, pulling the arrow back. She let it go and it flew through the air, hitting the pinecone, and slammed into the ground. She smiled smugly at him.

"We just might," Caspian agreed.

* * *

**Sorry it took me so long to update this. School got in the way. I hope you liked this chapter, even though it's kind of short. The scene between Susan and Caspian is a deleted scene off of the movie that I wanted to put in here. I don't own that part at all. Please read and review.**


	10. Bonding

**Bonding**

No matter how hard she tried Lucy just couldn't get to sleep. She hated knowing that Peter wasn't with them, that he was locked in Miraz's castle where they could easily torture him or do whatever they wanted with him. They could've killed him by now and they wouldn't have known it.

She didn't want to admit it but she was afraid of what was going to happen. Sure, she had Edmund, Susan, and even Caspian to protect her but she could honestly say she was closer to Peter than any of her siblings. Now that he was gone she felt as if half of her was gone too.

"Lucy," she heard Edmund whisper. "Lucy, are you awake?"

Lucy sat up and looked around the dimly lit room. She squinted in the darkness to see Edmund coming towards her, a candle was in his hand allowing him to see. Lucy rubbed her eyes as Edmund sat down across from her.

"How're you holding up?" Edmund asked as he motioned Lucy to sit in front of him. He gently took out her braids and ran his fingers through Lucy's hair.

"It's hard," Lucy admitted. "Peter would do anything he could for the people of Narnia, but…it's like a nightmare to me knowing that he's there. They could be torturing him or starving him or…he could be dead all ready. It's the thought of how he could be is what's making me worried the most."

"You don't have to worry about Peter," Edmund told her.

"Why not?" Lucy asked, staring at the dusty wall in front of her.

"Because Peter can get himself out of any trouble," he responded, separating Lucy's hair to redo the braids. "He was able to lead our army against the White Witch. He was able to defeat the Calormenes. Before they tried to attack Archenland and take Susan they attacked the sea people of The Last Sea. He, inadvertently, stopped Susan from getting married to Rabadash. He gave me a lot of chances when I would potentially tarnish the name of Cair Paravel and the country of Narnia. If Peter can do all of that, he can surely find a way out of Miraz's clutches. We're just going to go to give him some back up."

"You'll come back, won't you Ed?" She asked in a whisper.

"Of course Lu. You can't go home without us," he responded with a little chuckle. "I mean, Mum and Dad are going to find it strange that you and Su go home on holidays but Peter and I stay all the time. Especially when I practically jump at the chance to go home any time I get."

"Don't you like it at Henden House?" Lucy questioned.

Edmund paused in the middle of braiding her hair and thought about it. "I like some of the classes, but I feel as if it is as waste of time. Being here in Narnia for years before I had time to read everything I needed to know for History. English class is pretty boring. Math, I could do without. Science, I don't really need. The only thing I like is art. And the people…let's just say I prefer talking animals than people in my year."

"Oh, but they can't be all bad. You get along with those lads on the rugby team," Lucy pointed out.

"Yes, but I have to. They could easily rip my ear off," he said, chuckling a little.

"Since when do you know how to braid hair?" Susan asked, walking over to Edmund and Lucy and sitting down with them.

"Since I had nothing better to do one day," he responded with a shrug as he started a braid on the side of Lucy's head, about her eyelevel, and pulled it back so he could style her hair like it was before. "Just don't tell Peter about this."

"Why not? I find it refreshing that a guy knows how to braid hair," Susan responded as she started to braid the other side.

"Because he won't let me live it down if he knew. And it's not something I like people to know anyway."

The three stayed silent, enjoying each other's company. They've never had time to do that during school, they were always separated, studying or playing sports or going to classes or, in Susan's case, chatting with other boys. Even when they were back home they didn't spend a lot of time together like they do in Narnia. It was if the magical world was what reminded them how close they were.

"Hey Ed," Lucy spoke up suddenly, a smile forming on her face. "Remember when Susan and I tried to get you to learn how to dance?"

"Yes, I remember. I hated that so much," he muttered. "I still can't believe you made me get lessons from Mr. Tumnus, of all people." He shook his head as if he couldn't believe if but a smile was forming on his face.

"Oh, but you two were the perfect couple," Susan said in a teasing tone as she lightly elbowed him in the side. "You both had two left feet."

"Or hooves," Lucy corrected with a laugh. The girls doubled over in hysterics as Edmund tried not to let his smile show.

"It wasn't _that_ funny," Edmund muttered. "Remember the time when Susan and…what was his name…ah, Prince Gabriel was getting Susan's advice on how to propose to Princess Jaclyn and you thought that he was going to propose to her. You got Peter involved in it and you two spied on them, followed them around for days, only to have to you crash his proposal."

Lucy gasped as Edmund and Susan started laughing. "How was I supposed to know that he wasn't planning on proposing to her? They were together all of the time, I just put two and two together."

"And unfortunately it didn't equal four for you," Edmund quipped.

"I know, somewhere out there, that Aslan is watching," Lucy spoke up suddenly. Edmund and Susan looked at each other before looking at what Lucy was staring at: the carving of the lion in the wall. "He will come and help us. I know he will."

Edmund and Susan knew not to question her belief in Aslan coming to help them. Last time Edmund didn't believe Lucy he wound up feeling pretty stupid and he didn't want to feel it again. _'Oh Aslan, please keep Peter safe.'_

-------

**A fluffy chapter for Edmund, Lucy, and Susan bonding. I wanted Edmund to know how to braid to bond with Lucy on a better level. Also, this chapter was short because the next one, all about Peter, will be longer and I wanted to give you a look at how well the Pevensies bond. I'll stop rambling. Please read and review.**


	11. Brothers

**Brothers**

Peter lightly knocked his head against the wall behind him in time with the water dripping on the floor of his cell. His wrists, ankles, and head throbbed but that was the least of his pain. The pain in his heart was worse. It kept him up at night and made it impossible for him to focus on getting out himself.

There were times that it helped block out the pain he received from the hands of Miraz. The past couple of days Peter was subject to being treated as a lowly servant. He had to draw baths for the Telmarines, make their food, wipe their mouths, clean after them, draw their baths, and stand as their target for target practice. He was sure that many of them missed on purpose, manly striking arrows into his shoulders. He was tended to by the nurses but they made sure to make the pain even worse before they tended to it.

He felt sick to his stomach and he was getting weaker and weaker by the day but Miraz didn't care about Peter's well-being. The more Peter suffered, the happier he got. If he could break the High King physically, mentally, and emotionally, he would know that he had won.

Peter didn't bother shielding his eyes from the bright light when his cell door was opened. He didn't wait for the guards to yell at him to stand. Mutely, he stood and lifted his arms, ready for the day's routine. The closest guard to him uncuffed his hands and feet and grabbed him by his upper arm. Peter's feet shuffled along the ground as he struggled to keep up. His legs were too weak to move properly but they didn't care. They forced him along.

Peter fell as he tried to climb the stairs. The other guard grabbed his arm and dragged him up. Peter could faintly feel pain every time his knee hit a stair. He felt numb to the pain now, he taught himself how to take himself to a better time, where he and his family were playing and nothing went wrong.

He was thrown face first onto the ground and landed on his hands and knees and a crossbow was pressed into his back to make sure he didn't move. It was the same ol' routine; he didn't even have to be awake to know how it was going to go.

"_King_ Peter," Miraz's voice echoed around the vast room. The amusement carried throughout the room and slammed into Peter's head. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." Miraz chuckled as he got off of his throne. He clasped his arms behind his back and slowly walked towards the kneeling king. His slow footsteps echoed through the room as he deliberately took his time to get to Peter. Once he stopped in front of the young ruler he brought out his sword and rested the flat blade under his chin. He lifted it to lift Peter's chin so his now dull blue eyes locked with cold dark eyes. "You're going to be my pawn."

Peter made a grunting sound, as if he was trying to make a sound of refusal. He let out a cry of pain when a boot connected with the side of his head, causing him to bite his tongue hard and to see stars. Miraz dropped his sword and grabbed a fistful of Peter's hair, yanking his head up.

"You're going to be my pawn," he repeated through clenched teeth. "I may have you but your pesky siblings will still get in the way. That's where you come in." He pulled Peter's hair tighter, causing the blond king to groan. "You're going to go back to your castle. You're going to tell them that you escaped. You're also going to tell them that we are on our way to fight them at Ford of Beruna."

"N-no," Peter whispered.

"You _will_ tell them or I'll kill you right now!"

"You've taken everything that I care about away from me," Peter spoke in a trembling voice. "The only thing you can do for me now is to kill me." Feeling weak meant nothing to him now. He didn't know how long he was going to survive. The only thing he knew was that he just wanted to get the pain over with. His family would eventually understand why he begged to be killed.

"Get him ready for his journey!" Miraz snapped, throwing Peter onto the floor at the same time. His head bounced up from the hard ground before resting on it as he took sharp, quick breaths. The two guards grabbed Peter's arms and dragged him out of the large room to prepare him for his journey.

-----

Edmund stared at the sword that was in his hands, the sword his brother trusted him with. Now it was the sword that he would use to lead the Narnians into battle with the Telmarines, whenever that happened. Edmund made sure to keep up a façade around his sisters and the Narnians but deep down inside he was panicking.

He didn't know how to control an army; he didn't have the right training. And with everyone relying on his word he'd be the one to blame if something went wrong or if someone died. Where was Peter when he needed his brother's guidance? Edmund smiled a little. He would never admit when he needed his brother, Peter was the same way. They didn't feel the need to admit when one needed the other, they just _knew_, and this was one time when he really needed Peter around. He wasn't even afraid to admit it, but he'd rather admit it to Lucy than to Susan. Susan, to put it lightly, would have a field day knowing that Edmund actually wanted his brother around.

"Edmund! Edmund!"

Edmund looked up when Lucy came sprinting into the vast cavern where the stone table resided. Edmund usually went there to think. Since he spent most of his time thinking, the Stone Table was the first place someone thought to look for him now.

"What is it?" He asked, looking down at his sister.

"It's Susan," Lucy replied, panting slightly. "She and Caspian are fighting."

"So?" He questioned, making a face. He didn't want to deal with his sister's mood swings; he had to deal with them enough at home. At least while they were in Narnia he could get away from her whenever he wanted. "She's a girl, girls are always fighting about something," he pointed out.

"They're fight about trying another night raid to get Peter."

Edmund pressed his lips together to keep anything from falling out of his mouth before he could think. He really wanted to just leave right then, run to Miraz's castle and slay everyone in sight just to get to his brother. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're the one in charge!" No matter how many times Lucy had told him that in the past couple of days it never registered in his mind. "No go and stop them!" She moved behind him and pushed him out of the area. He sighed and allowed his little sister to push him. They didn't even move that far before they heard Susan and Caspian yelling at each other. Edmund sighed as Narnians moved around them, as if in a haste to get away from the fighting couple.

"We can't just sit around here and do nothing!" Susan's voice bounced off of the walls. "Peter will die out there!"

"It is not wise to barge right in without a plan, either!" Caspian shouted back as his dark eyes flashed dangerously.

Edmund cleared his throat obnoxiously, easily gaining their attention. He had a bored look on his face and sighed as if he was getting ready to speak to a kindergartener. "The best thing we can do for now is to wait them out." He quickly held up his hand when Caspian and Susan opened their mouths to protest. "I know it's like we're waiting ourselves out but you have to trust me. They'll become impatient and come running over here to attack us while we're the ones who was waiting for it and are more armed."

"Edmund has a point," Lucy spoke up. Edmund couldn't keep the cocky smile that slid onto his lips once that phrase reached his ears. "I'm sure you can take care of this on your own." She patted Edmund's arm and left the room. She needed fresh air or she would go crazy.

She skipped out of Aslan's How, waving at a few centaurs and fauns as she passed them. They bowed graciously before returning to their work. Lucy ran up the slant that took her outside. She stood near the top and took in a huge breath of air as she looked around.

"Queen Lucy, call for help!" A centaur shouted from above her as he squinted in the distance.

"What? What do you see?" Lucy called back.

"King Peter!" _Peter? _Lucy struggled to see into the distance. She could have sworn she saw a figure moving far near the edge of the woods. "Now, my Queen! Get your brother!"

Lucy turned back around and ran into the How, screaming Edmund's and Susan's names. It echoed throughout the How as she ran from room to room, dodging people and their weapons. By the time she found her siblings she could barely get out the news. Somehow Edmund understood her thought because he charged out of the How, a few centaurs in two. Susan and Lucy ran to the top of the How and stood watching as their brother ran towards a horse that was galloping towards them. Someone on back was bouncing around, the only thing keeping him on was his feet in the stirrups and his hands holding onto the reigns tightly, otherwise he would've fallen to the ground.

"It's Peter!" Susan gasped, not believing her own eyes. "It's him, it's really him!"

"Do you think they let him go?" Lucy asked.

"No," Susan replied. "They wouldn't have given him up that easily. He probably escaped himself."

The two continued to watch as Edmund slung himself onto the horse behind Peter. He hand to lean over slightly to see from behind his brother as he urged the horse forward faster, keeping his arms in tight so Peter wouldn't fall off of the horse. The centaurs followed them; their arrows were raised as they made sure that they wouldn't be ambushed on the way back.

Susan and Lucy scurried inside, eager to meet up with their brother. They checked a couple of rooms and ended up at the Stone Table where Edmund slowly laid Peter on the ground. Lucy covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened and filled with tears when she saw her brother. His body was bruised; she wouldn't be surprised if some bones were broken. His face was ripped open with scratches and he had a few bruises around his eyes. His lips were swollen and split. His clothes were tattered, smudged, and torn. Bruises could be seen through the holes in his clothes.

"Oh, Peter," she whispered as she dropped down by his side.

He stirred and tilted his head. He slowly opened his eyes and his lips formed a pained smile. "Lu," he greeted her in a raspy voice as he tried to lift his arm.

"Don't," Edmund said as he dropped it again. "Don't move too much," he mumbled. "Lu, use your cordial."

"Susan, why're you crying?" Peter rasped, turning his dull eyes to Susan who was hastily wiping tears off of her cheeks. "I'm fine, don't cry over me." She stayed silent as she nodded and forced a smile.

Edmund started hard at Peter's face as Lucy uncorked her cordial. She gently lifted Peter's head and tilted the cordial so a few drops of the liquid slid down his throat. He let out a ragged breath as Lucy laid him back on the ground and he stared up at the ceiling but it seemed like he was looking through it. A few minutes passed as they sat there in silence, trying to find something to say. Peter suddenly turned his head and motioned Edmund closer. Edmund lowered his ear to Peter's mouth as Peter whispered something in his ear.

Edmund leaned back, nodding. "Susan, Lucy, could you go and get a container of water please?" They nodded and moved to get up. "And don't come back in for a bit," he added without taking his eyes off of Peter. Peter continued to stare at the ceiling as Edmund stared at Peter. Susan and Lucy returned with a wooden bucket filled with water and a cloth. They glanced at Peter once more before leaving the room.

Edmund lifted Peter so he was in a sitting position before taking a good look at his brother's face. What scared him the most wasn't the bruises and gashes that hid his face; it was how dull his once bright blue eyes were. It was as if Peter's soul was hiding somewhere in his eyes, but far in the back, in the depths of darkness.

"Oh, Pete," Edmund whispered as he slowly shook his head. Peter lowered his so he wouldn't have to see his brother's sad gaze anymore. He hesitantly lifted his hands to slowly unclasp the hooks on his shirt. He continued to keep his head down as he pulled it off and dropped it on the ground next to him, exposing his back to his brother. Edmund's eyes widened as his mouth fell open in shock. Red welts, open wounds, and the making of scars made a spider web-like pattern across Peter's back. Bruises made some areas darker than others but it only made the sight worse. The back of Peter's neck and arms had bruises that seemed to be in the shape of fingerprints and there seemed to be bite marks near his waist line. "Wh–what did they do to you?" He choked out, trying to keep the tears from falling from his eyes. He all ready knew the answer. It was the same thing he went through when he was with Jadis. He could feel his scars moving against his shirt slightly but Peter's back looked worse than his.

Edmund dipped the cloth into the water and wrung it out, making sure to leave it damp. He frowned, wondering if he should've asked for some healing herbs also but he knew that the cordial would heal the wounds as best as they could. He took in a deep breath and pressed the cloth against Peter's back. His heart practically broke in two when Peter's scream ripped through the air as Peter tried to jerk away from Edmund. He had to grab onto Peter's arm with his free hand as he continued scrubbing his brother's back. Peter continued to scream as he fought harder to get away from his brother.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Peter yelled in a hoarse voice.

"I'm trying to help you," Edmund begged.

"You're making it worse!"

"Peter!" Edmund threw down the cloth and grabbed his brother's shoulders to hold him steady. "Pete, I know what you're going through. Let me help."

"You don't know," Peter growled darkly. "You don't know what they did to me, what I've been through to keep you safe."

"Yes I do," Edmund whispered. Peter turned around to glare at his brother when he saw the sadness in his brown eyes. Wordlessly Edmund pulled the clasps of his own shirt and pulled it off of himself. When he was sure he still had his brother's attention he turned around and displayed his own scars for Peter to see. Edmund's scars were cold to the touch. He shivered involuntarily when he felt Peter's fingertips brushing against his slightly raised scars.

"I'm sorry," Peter whispered, resting his forehead on Edmund's bare shoulder. Edmund could feel Peter trembling before he felt the tears gently graze his shoulder. Edmund couldn't stop the tears falling from his dark eyes as he brought up a hand and rested it on the back of Peter's neck in an awkward hug.


	12. High King Peter the Coward

**High King Peter, the Coward**

Peter's head pounded. His throat was dry and his lids were heavy. At first he thought he was back at Miraz's castle stuck in his cell again. He bolted upright, eyes wild with fear. Susan's gentle hand on his shoulder instantly calmed him down and he rested back on the ground, making sure not to rub his back against the hard rock.

"Are you ok?" Susan whispered, gently running her fingers through his hair. He nodded and closed his eyes at her touch. He was suddenly taken back to the times when they were younger. They would be running around in their backyard, their laughter filling the otherwise still air. Everything would seem perfect, nothing could ruin their fantasy world, nothing could bring them back to reality.

Edmund and Peter were the kings of their world. Susan and Lucy were the young girls that needed saving from the bad things. Peter smiled to himself. They never fully said what the bad things were but it was a common understanding. Now he felt like the roles were reversed, Susan was now protecting Peter from the bad things. Susan was now the one making everything better for him. Susan was now the one who knew how to make everything better.

But everything wasn't better, not at all, for Peter was backstabbing them and that broke his heart. Peter's features scrunched up as he tried to swallow the pain but everything came up in the form of tears. Tears fell down his face as his body wracked with sobs.

"Peter? Peter are you ok?' Susan asked in alarm, holding onto her older brother.

"I'm a bad boy," Peter whispered. Susan had to lean over to hear him. "I'm a bad boy. I'm a _bad…boy_!"

"No you're not! Peter, you aren't a bad boy," Susan said as she held him tight and rocked him gently.

"Ye-yess I a-am! You d-d-don't underst-st-stand!" Peter sobbed.

Susan held him tighter and continued to rock him. She kissed the top of his head and rocked him, holding him tight and whispering in his ear. His loud sobs were reduced to soft whimpers and the tears slowed down. He blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling and let out a slow but shaky breath.

He lifted his head as Edmund came into the room. Blue eyes locked with brown as Edmund hesitated in the doorway. He finally stepped in fully and sat down next to Susan, never taking his eyes off of Peter. "We were worried," Edmund started.

"How come you didn't get me?" Edmund closed his eyes. Peter's words were harsh, brutal, and painful. It wasn't like Peter at all. His voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper but Edmund could hear the pain behind it. Peter tried to push himself into a sitting position but he grunted, let out a gasp of pain, and laid back down, his head in Susan's lap. "Why didn't you come and get me?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"You would want me to risk everyone else's lives by running right into Miraz's castle like chickens with their heads cut off?" Edmund asked slowly, lifting an eyebrow. Peter didn't respond. "Don't blame this on _me_, Peter. Technically this is your fault."

"_My_ fault?" Peter repeated in a hiss.

"Yes, your fault. All your fault," Edmund repeated. "_You_ were the one who wanted to hit them while they were sleeping because you didn't want to wait until we formulated a better plan."

"What _else_ were we supposed to do?" Peter demanded. "We couldn't just sit around and wait for them to come to us."

"Yes we could!" Edmund groaned and grabbed his head. He them slapped his knees and let out a frustrated breath. "We could have thought of something better, Peter. We could have sent a few in to drag them out and back here where we could have _easily _ambushed them. But _nooooo_ we had to go what the great High King of Narnia says, even though he was being a _complete nutter_!"

"Edmund, stop it!" Susan hissed. "This is not what Peter needs."

"Peter needs a reality check and I'm the only one who is giving it to him," Edmund snarled. "It's _Peter's_ fault that so many people died at his hands. It's _his_ fault that they now know what we're capable of. It's _his_ fault that we're scrambling to think of something to do now, something that Miraz won't suspect. And you know what? It was _his_ own fault for getting captured!"

"I did it to protect _you_!" Peter's voice rose a bit, dropping the rasp and gaining some strength.

Edmund scoffed. "You don't think of others when you do things, Peter."

"Yes I do!"

"_No you don't_!" Edmund yelled. Peter and Susan both flinched at Edmund's tone of voice. His dark eyes were smoldering and he was shaking slightly. "You _never_ think of others before you charge into things. You don't think of me, Susan, or Lucy. You just go running off to do whatever you think is right you don't think of how it can affect the others."

"That's not–"

Edmund held up his hand, stopping Peter. "Peter," his voice was soft, gentle. It was so unlike Edmund it even scared Susan. "You've always been like that." Edmund actually started to chuckle. "Whenever you ran off into the woods to explore you never thought that we'd follow you but we always did. Just to make sure Big Brother was ok." He lightly touched Peter's forehead, rubbing dried blood off of his forehead. He squinted. "_Are_ you ok?"

Peter's lower lip trembled as he slowly shook his head. His body started shaking as he dissolved into tears once more. "Noooo," he wailed. "I'm not ok! I'll _never be_ ok! Because you hate me and Susan hates me and Lucy hates me."

"We don't hate you," Susan whispered.

'Then why won't Lucy come near me?" Peter demanded. "Why won't she talk to me? Why won't she _look_ at me? Why?" Susan and Edmund remained silent and Peter let out a frustrated breath. "You don't get it…" he whispered.

"What?" Susan asked. "What don't we get."

"What they did," Peter replied, his voice a whisper. Edmund and Susan leaned closer to him.

"What did they do?" Peter remained silent. "Pete, please tell us. What did they do to you?"

Peter started to shake again. "They…hurt me." He squeezed his eyes shut but tears leaked out of the corners. "They hurt me…everyday. They would hit me, kick me, bit me, and punch me. They even stabbed me once. The torture…it was every day. They wouldn't stop, not even if I begged them."

"Peter, you didn't beg," Susan said, shaking her head, not wanting to believe him.

Peter solemnly nodded. "But they wouldn't listen. They just…_laughed_. They laughed in my face. They laughed at High King Peter the Magnificent." He smiled a sad smile. "I'm not magnificent anymore."

"Yes you are!" Susan insisted.

Peter shook his head. "No I'm not. Not anymore. Magnificent ones don't beg. They aren't weak. They don't show weakness. I was everything. I did everything." He shied away liked he was a little boy again. "I'm nothing but a coward. High King Peter the Coward."


	13. Peter and Lucy

**Peter and Lucy**

Lucy bit her lip. She and Susan were sitting by, listening as Edmund and the others came up with plans of revenge against Miraz to make him pay for what they did to their King. She knew the old saying, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but she just wanted all of the fighting to stop. They had Peter back, didn't they?

But she knew she was kidding herself. Peter wasn't the same Peter anymore. He was a beaten, bruised empty shell of their former High King. Even she could see that he wasn't the same anymore. He shied away from anything that had to do with fighting, he was even starting to distance himself from his own brothers and sisters as they tried to think of something to do.

Lucy tried to talk to him from time to time but Peter would keep the conversation short and then he would shut himself off from her. She wanted to cry but she knew she had to be strong for his sake. She just couldn't stand seeing her brother, her best friend, in this state and not be able to do anything to fix it. Even her cordial wouldn't help in this situation.

"We can't just take this lying down!" A Minotaur called over the restless crowd which Edmund was trying to get a handle over. The Minotaur got a roar of agreement as Edmund sighed and looked over at Susan with wide, pleading eyes.

Susan gave a small smile in return and got off of her seat, dusting off the seat of her dress. Lucy stood as well and looked up at Susan, wondering what she was going to say. "Luce, take Peter outside would you? I'm sure this is upsetting him terribly," she whispered, glancing at her older brother. Peter glanced at Susan when his name was mentioned but went back to looking hard at his hands as if words were written on them in a different language.

"What am I supposed to do?" Lucy asked her.

"Talk to him. Or get him to talk to you about what happened. The more you can get him to talk the better," she replied, gently pushing loose strands of Lucy's hair out of her face. "We need to know what happened to him."

"We all ready know," Lucy pointed out. "He was tortured badly." She slowly shook her head. "Please don't leave me with him," she whispered, fear laced in her voice.

"Lucy, come now. Peter's still your brother."

"That's not Peter. That's someone disguising himself as Peter," Lucy denied, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't want to talk to this Peter. This Peter wouldn't respond to her and when he did it was just choppy sentences and then he would be quiet all over again. She hated this Peter, she wanted this Peter to go away and bring back the Peter he left behind in Miraz's castle. She wanted to go to Miraz's castle herself and hurt him until he knew how he not only hurt their brother but hurt their family as a whole.

Susan knelt so she was at Lucy's eye level. "Peter really needs us right now, Lu. I know you're hurting about what happened to him but he's sure to be hurting more than we are and I'm sure the only thing he really needs right now is for one of us to listen."

"Why can't it be Ed?" Lucy demanded.

"Because Edmund needs to take on his duties as King right now." Lucy opened her mouth to protest again. "No arguing, now go. This shouldn't take too long. You know how persuasive I can be," She winked at Lucy who let out a long sigh.

"Fine," Lucy grumbled.

"Atta girl." Susan kissed Lucy's forehead and went to join their brother. Lucy let out a breath, turned and looked at Peter who was now staring off into the space in front of him. She hated seeing him like this but what could she do? Slap him out of the state? She'd probably do more damage than help him.

She walked over to Peter and made sure to keep a small smile on her face to let him know that she wasn't there to hurt him. He wouldn't believe that, would he? That his own sister, his own much smaller sister, would be there to hurt him? Of course not, it wasn't possible. Despite everything that Peter went through he should know that she wouldn't want to hurt him. She wasn't like Miraz or the other Telmarines.

But Peter's messed up mind could think of her as such. Lucy stopped in her tracks and looked at her brother though tear-filled eyes. How was she going to talk to him? How was she going to get _him_ to talk to _her_? She forced herself to keep walking towards him until she was standing over him. She paused and noticed that Peter's lips were moving slightly, as if he were talking to someone very quietly. She touched his arm and he visibly flinched before looking up at her with wide, unrecognizing eyes. Lucy bit her lip, keeping herself from crying as he slowly relaxed and looked down at the floor.

"Peter, do you want to take a walk with me?" She asked, forcing happiness in her voice.

Peter looked up at her again and searched her face. _Probably trying to find a hidden motive,_ Lucy told herself but kept the smile on her face. Finally he nodded and stood, brushing dirt off of his own pants and allowed Lucy to lead him out of the shelter and up into the large grassy fields that expanded beyond sight.

"Isn't it beautiful?" She asked him, pushing her hair out of her face. "It must be better than being stuck in that castle, right?"

Peter didn't say anything; he just looked around at the grassy fields in front of him. Lucy frowned, seeing the bruise that surrounded his right eye and the cut that seemed to slice through his right eyebrow.

"What happened in there, Peter?" Lucy asked, her voice barely heard over the sound of the whistling wind. "Can you tell me?"

Peter squeezed his eyes shut and slowly shook his head, no doubt thinking back on what happened to him. Lucy didn't expect him to reply so she was shocked when he started talking. "They took me to this dungeon." His voice was raspy and he cleared his throat. "Two soldiers. Miraz wouldn't dare get his hands dirty by touching me," he added bitterly and let out a little cough and cleared his throat again. "They made me listen to our friends…" he shook his head and squeezed his eyes tighter. "He made me listen to our friends get k-killed. The ones that couldn't escape in time."

Lucy covered her mouth with her hands and stopped herself from letting out a sob right before it escaped her lips. She was afraid if she made a sound Peter would stop talking and she needed to get him to continue talking. He shook his head, brought up an arm and wiped at his eyes, sniffing, and dropped his arm again, suddenly starting to walk forward. Lucy fell into step with him and kept her eyes on him as he walked in a random direction, as if trying to get away from everything.

"They wouldn't let me eat and when they did it wasn't much. They…they hit me whenever they had the time, when Miraz told them to, for _fun_. They thought it was some _game._ Who could hurt High King Peter the most before he begged them to stop?" He spat at the ground and shook his head again. Lucy was biting her lip so hard now she was surprised her teeth didn't go through it. "They treated me like some slave, like something lower than the dirt on their shoes. When they weren't hurting me they left me in the dungeons, shackled to a wall, trying to see if I'd go crazy, I'll bet. And then…they let me go," he said towards the grass.

"Just like that?" Lucy asked.

"No, they want me to tell you that they're going to attack soon, but it's a trap, to catch you off guard," Peter replied. "If only I didn't make that plan in the first place. If only I wasn't so ready to fight and prove my worth." Tears fell freely down his face now.

"Peter," Lucy whispered.

"Am I really fit to be Narnia's High King anymore?" Peter asked, his head hanging.

Lucy rested her head on his shoulder and let a single tear fall down her cheeks.


	14. Edmund in Charge

**Edmund in Charge  
**

Edmund let out a sigh and ran a hand though his hair. Ever since Peter's gotten back he could feel the army had lost faith in them. They needed someone to lead them but the Narnians were still wary about Caspian. He was a Telmarine after all and some felt that they couldn't trust the young Prince.

Peter wasn't in the right place to fight or lead an army, they all knew it but they wouldn't comment on it whenever Peter was around. Instead looks of pity traveled around the room and Peter seemed to be oblivious to it all. He sat by himself, his head down looking at his hands, and he was quiet. Too quite. It kept Edmund unsettled while he waited for Peter to jump out of his skin or go back to normal, whoever came first.

Edmund silently hoped and prayed that the next day would be the one where Peter would come back to his senses but the more reserved Peter got the more Edmund knew his hopes were a lost cause. Peter was an empty shell of his former self and he didn't know how to bring Peter back, if they could.

Lucy shifted on the blanket next to him. All around them soft snores were heard and half-illuminated bodies gently moved as the group slept. Edmund always found himself as a sort of insomniac whenever they entered Narnia. It always took him about two weeks for his normal sleeping pattern to return only because he couldn't get used to the sounds of Narnia as quickly as his siblings could.

The torch on the wall gave him enough light to see but it wasn't bright enough to fill the spacious room. Edmund cleared his throat a bit, the dust in the air was getting to him but he couldn't complain about their current situation. He had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that the Narnians blamed them for their recent circumstances. Of course they wouldn't say it out loud, they were much too mature for that, but Edmund could practically see the accusatory looks in their eyes.

It wasn't their fault they left, Edmund reasoned. Well, if you really thought about it the blame rested on Edmund's shoulders alone. After hearing the news about the White Stag _he_ was the one who boasted to Lucy and Susan that he could catch it before they even made it out of the castle. _He_ was the one who raced them into the woods on their trusty steeds. However, it was _Lucy_ who remembered Spare Oom and ran off and he and his siblings, like usual, had to bring her back.

Edmund mentally kicked himself. No one was to blame for the turn of events. It just happened and they had to deal with it. Now they're back and they have to deal with this problem at hand as well. But how?

"Edmund? Are you awake?"

Edmund nodded his head and then tilted it to look at Lucy who was staring up at the dark ceiling. "What're you doing awake?" Edmund asked.

"I couldn't sleep," Lucy replied. "I've been thinking too much."

"Well, that poses as a problem. Maybe you should think a little less," Edmund teased.

Lucy gasped and playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "Edmund, be serious!"

"Ok, I'm sorry. What's on your mind?"

"Peter," Lucy replied. "What if he doesn't go back to normal?" Tears started to collect in the corners of her eyes. "I want to hurt Miraz for hurting Peter but that won't make him go back to the way he was before." A sharp tone rested in her voice. "We have to do something!"

"But what can we do?" Edmund asked her.

"Anything! Anything's better than sitting around here and hiding and waiting for them to attack us. Come up with a plan, Edmund."

"I…it's not that simple, Lu," Edmund muttered. But it was that simple, he knew that, everyone knew that. They just had to make a plan and stick with it and hope that everything comes out right. But that was the flaw to Peter's plan… Hope. There was too much of it, it blinded Peter's judgment and he ended up like this.

But maybe there was a way he could buy themselves some time to make sure Peter was up to par with the inevitable battle that was to go on. Maybe there was something they could do to distract Miraz in the meantime, but what?

* * *

Peter let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair. His hands trembled and was quickly followed by the rest of his body shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to take calming breaths as the soft wind blew through his hair and caressed his face.

_Get a grip, Peter. _Peter forced himself to take a long and slow deep breath and then let it out. Once the breath was out all the way he opened his eyes and looked up at the full, bright, and silvery moon. It illuminated the whole area in a silver glow and made it seem unreal, almost, as if he were dreaming.

"Aslan, why won't you help us? Why won't you help me?" Peter mumbled, looking out at the vast lands "Where are you hiding?"

His response was silence. It was what he expected. He didn't think Aslan would suddenly show up and help them when he wasn't necessarily needed. But Peter _did_ need Aslan. He needed Aslan and his siblings to help him, but how could they help? They've only given him looks of pity whenever they looked at him and he hated it. But he had to deal with it. He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to be near anything or anyone that had to deal with the bloodshed and the violence. Not again. It took him a lot of inner strength just to convince himself that Miraz and his soldiers weren't out there to bring him back to the castle.

Peter tried to think of every excuse possible as to why Miraz didn't get his siblings or the land but he always came up empty and the fear continued to creep in on him. Peter clenched his hands into fists. Since when was he a coward? But he all ready knew the answer to the question, when he was beaten and tortured for no other reason but for fun and for the enjoyment of Miraz.

Peter angrily kicked at a rock. All of his anger was in that kick and it helped the rock go flying. His anger for feeling trapped and confused ebbed and flowed throughout the day but it got worse over night in the darkness. There had to be something they could do to take Miraz down, but what? And as soon as that thought left Peter's head he knew what he could and had to do.

* * *

Edmund heard a buzzing sound in his ears when he was given the news the next morning. Peter was gone. As if he had disappeared into thin air. There were no signs of a struggle or an escape. Peter just left on his own. But why?

"What do we do now, Ed?"

Edmund blinked and looked at Lucy who was staring back at him. He adjusted the belt that held his sword, a nervous habit. "What do you mean?" Edmund asked.

"What do we do?" Lucy repeated. "You're the King in charge now."

Edmund looked around at the many pairs of eyes that were staring back at him. He knew that if he made one little mistake it would cost them their lives.


	15. Peter's Return

**Peter's Return**

Peter pushed through the branches of trees that clawed at him and his clothes. His journey had been a long one. He expected Miraz to have attacked him as soon as he set foot away from their hideout, but he was alone. For the most part he remembered where Miraz's castle was. However, as soon as the sun set he had a hard time navigating the woods.

He bit his lip and stopped, looking around for a place to go next. It was so dark in front of him he could hardly see the back of his hand. He panted heavily as he looked around, still trying to decide which way to go. He finally thought that maybe it wasn't a good idea to leave them all behind, but he knew he had to do it. It was in his destiny. If he couldn't save Narnia, then it would fail. Sure, his brother and sisters were still there but, ultimately, the responsibility rested on his shoulders.

_I am the High King of Narnia, and I will die protecting it if I have to._

Peter kept repeating those words in his head anytime he had doubts about what he was doing. He knew, deep down in his bones, that he was doing the right thing. He was protecting the others, but at the potential cost of his life.

And he was okay with that. As long as the others were safe he was okay with the idea of dying at Miraz's hands.

Peter was about to take another step when he hear a small snap of a twig. He looked under his foot and saw that the twig under his foot hadn't been snapped. Quickly, almost instinctively, he grabbed his sword and swung it around in time for it to connect with another sword that was in the middle of swinging towards his head.

Just then the moon slid out from behind the clouds and lit up the scene around him. He was surrounded by as many as ten of Miraz's soldiers, if not more. Peter tensed and waited for one of them to attack him, any one of them.

The man in front of him backed away and stabbed at him. Peter easily dodged out of the way and swung at the man. As soon as Miraz's soldiers closed in on him he realized his mistake. He felt hands tugging everywhere. His hair, his collar, his arms, legs, around his neck. Someone started to squeeze.

He fought back with everything he had but the person squeezing his neck squeezed tighter. Peter swung his sword with all of his might. He felt a hard tug at the end of his hand and felt the sword go flying out of it. His shoulder hurt, as if it had been pulled out of its socket. His movements started to slow. Everything started to blur. Voices became fuzzy, as if he were underwater, slowly drowning. Darkness crept in the corners.

He felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and then everything muted, everything went black and he couldn't feel anything.


	16. Restoration

**Restoration**

Peter's head throbbed. Or was that his heartbeat? Either way everything on his body was hurting. His chest hurt every breath he struggled to take it, only for his chest to hurt even worse when he began to cough violently. Dust particles shot down his throat and the thick air made it hard for him to breathe properly.

_Am I actually dying this time? _The thought shot through his mind as he wheezed and hacked. He wouldn't mind if he died at the moment. Then he wouldn't have to suffer at the hands of Miraz anymore. He wouldn't have to deal with the guilt of not being able to lead his friends, his family, his kingdom into victory. He wouldn't have to be bestowed with a name from Aslan that he didn't deserve. All around, he wouldn't have to suffer.

He bit down on his lower lipa and brought in a slow breath through his nose. But then he'd still leave everyone in danger. He got up and left them alone, with only Edmund and Caspian to lead. They were tough fighters. Edmund was, arguably, a much better swordsman than Peter would ever be, but that wouldn't be enough, he knew. They were smart men, but it just wouldn't be enough.

Narnia would fall and it would be his entire fault. Another reason to just end it all. But since when did Peter Pevensie give up easily? Peter struggled to force his eyes open. Sunlight poured in every space between his eyelids as he tried to lift them, but they were heavy with fatigue and a lack of energy. When he tried to move his hands it was then that he felt the fire in his sockets come roaring to life once more. The dirty floor started to swim and swirl from the tears that gathered in his eyes, a combination from the dust and the strong sunlight. A particularly large cut underneath his eye began to sting when the tears slipped down his face.

Oh what a particularly grueling night he had. A night filled with Miraz's soldiers taking their turn with him, kicking him, hitting him, striking him across the face. All because he had done what he thought was right and turned himself back into Miraz to keep them all safe while he suffered at the evil man's hands. That was it, Peter wanted to keep them safe the only way he knew how, the only way it would work. But it still backfired against him.

Peter spat at the ground. A small dark spot formed on the ground. Peter lifted his head, the muscles in his neck straining as he looked around the, unfortunately, familiar cell that he was holed in. He couldn't help but wonder what the others were doing without him. If they had sent anyone out to look for him. He hoped that they didn't, he didn't want them to end up there with him as well. He hoped…they'd understand why he left. He didn't want to be a pawn in anyone's plans, he didn't want to lead anyone towards his family and risk them getting hurt.

But no one would understand that. Save for Lucy. A small smile tugged on Peter's lips. Lucy was always his number one fan. She has always looked up to him with so much admiration it made him uncomfortable sometimes. She had him on a high pedestal that he knew, if he ever fell off of it, it would be a long way down and it would hurt worse. After seeing her so worried, so heartbroken over how different he was he just couldn't be around it anymore. Couldn't live with the fact that he wasn't the same Peter that she wanted him to be.

Who would be the same after being put through the torture and pain at the hand of Miraz?

"Aslan," Peter uttered through his dry, cracked lips. He coughed a little, the dry air still making it hard to breathe. He licked his lips and winced at the stinging sensation that burst through. The really did a number on him this time. Miraz definitely _was_ as strong as he looked. As ruthless and cold as well. He took care of Peter personally once the King came to in the night. Miraz didn't take too kindly when he was betrayed.

"Aslan," Peter tried again, his voice a little bit stronger this time.

He didn't know if Aslan would be able to hear him, wherever he was. Or if he could heard the High King. But Peter had nothing else to do, no other plan to come up with. This was it. The last resort. He knew Aslan never came when he was called, only when he was needed and had a time to present himself. But this was a good time as any, right? Peter still had to try.

"Please…you need to come. You need to help us. Please don't leave us here alone. We can't do this without you. We need you. I need you. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what to do. I don't know what's right. Please, Aslan, guide me. I've made such a mistake. I don't know how to fix it. It's all my fault."

Peter waited on baited breath, for something to happen. He didn't know what but he was waiting for something. The large lion to come bursting through the window. For him to appear on the other side of the door and let him know that everything would be alright.

But nothing happened.

Peter was still locked up. He hung his head and let out a shuddering breath. In the corner of his eye something shiny grabbed his attention. He lifted his head once more and caught a hold of…his heart started to beat rapidly.

_Rhindon!_

Peter's facial muscles contorted to reflect the confusion that was moving through his mind. Surely Miraz and the rest of his soldiers weren't stupid enough to leave Rhindon in the same room as him, were they? But Peter didn't want to stray on the subject for too long. He knew the only way he could get out was if he had Rhindon.

Sucking in a breath Peter shifted so his arms rolled in his sockets. Gritting his teeth he stretched himself as far forward as possible before swinging his leg out, stretching for the strap on his sword. If he could get his foot in the loop…

Suddenly adrenaline rushed through his veins and every doubt that previously shot around in his mind was gone and replaced with a single thought: _You are High King. You must protect Narnia no matter the cost._

With renewed faith Peter struggled and strained against his restraints. The pull on his wrists steadily got worse the more he pulled but he had to get to Rhindon, even if he lost his hands. Even if he lost his arms, he would not give up. He would not let Narnia fall because of him.

Peter stretched out as much as he could. His heart pounded hard against his ribcage. Blood rushed in his ears and his face took on a red hue from straining so hard. He shifted his foot this way and that to try and catch it on the strap of his sheath. He close. But no matter which way he turned and twisted his foot it wouldn't catch on.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

_Please, I need to protect Narnia!_

…And then he heard a scraping sound.

Peter's eyes shot open. His foot had caught the loop in the strap of the sheath and dragged the sword a few inches. His heart leapt and he let out a little laugh of disbelief. Shifting his foot he managed to get the loop up to his ankle. Settling back he bent his knee and brought his leg in as close as possible, dragging the sword along with it. A few tricky movements coupled with pain shooting down his arms was all it took for Peter to get his sword into his hands, holding it above his head.

He swore he could feel power moving through the blade, down to the handle, and seeped through his skin. All at once he felt as if he had gotten a good night's rest, his body being filled with energy as if it were being poured through his head. It began to fill his body from his toes up to the top of his head and was soon replaced by a feeling of renewed vengeance.

"For Narnia," he whispered to himself as he gripped his sword. He closed his eyes, twisted his wrists, and swung. A loud clang echoed off of the walls as Peter's hands fell down. He rubbed his sore wrists and smiled to himself before picking up his sword and ran out of the room.

* * *

_**A/N: **Guess who's back! I know it's been over a year with no update but I've finally gotten the motivation/inspiration/time to continue this story once more. I want to thank those who have messaged me asking to continue this story. I just want you all to know that, even if a story hasn't been updated for a while, I haven't abandoned it. I will make an announcement saying so if it ever comes to that point but that will not be the fate of this story. If any of you are still around I would appreciate it if you read and review. Thanks for being so patient with me. It means so much to me to know that you enjoy the story so much you're willing to wait around for me to update. I love you all!_

_ ~C.M._


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